Un Bel Dí, Vedremo
by CUtopia
Summary: Auschwitz!AU - And no matter what people were saying, she still wandered to the gate every day, scanning the approaching crowd of men with hopeful and dreamy eyes while placing a guarding hand over her belly, waiting for Neville to walk towards her with open arms and a smile.


Entry for _Music History_ at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

 **Option 1:** Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini

Explanation: 'Un bel dí, vedremo' (One good day, we will see) is one of my favourite pieces of classical music ever. It's sung by Madame Butterfly while she's waiting for her love to come home, and she waits forever, dreaming of the day she'll see him again. I took inspiration of this story.

Entry for the _Greek Mythology Competition_

 **Tartarus:** Write a fic with either Angst or tragedy for the genre

Entry for the _Chocolate Frog Card Club_

(Bronze) Barnabas Deveril; **Challenge:** Write about a reign of terror other than Voldemort's (can be fanonical)

Entry for the _Convince Me Competition_

 **Pairing:** Luna/Neville

Entry for the _September Event: Back to School_

(emotion) Nervous

(emotion) Timid

Entry for the _Gringotts Prompt Bank_

(3010 Words)

We will never forget.

* * *

 **Un Bel Dí, Vedremo**

* * *

 _Do you see it? He is coming!  
I don't go down to meet him, not I.  
I stay upon the edge of the hill  
And I wait a long time  
but I do not grow weary of the long wait._

* * *

Luna was ripped from her light slumber as the waggon rumbled over a point, swaying from one side to the other and in the semi-darkness, she could see that she wasn't the only one that was looking around in a daze. The few rays of golden sunlight that broke through the little window near the ceiling of the stock car told her that this was now their third day of travel. By now she'd gotten used to the constant sound of the railway, and if she was honest with herself, she was timid of what would happen if the noise stopped. She'd known the minute the SS had come in the middle of the night and had dragged her husband Neville and her out of their flat that they would go to a place that was worse than hell.

They'd heard the rumours, and Luna had met a man a few years ago who'd returned from one of these so called 'work camps' – she'd sat opposite to a broken man with empty eyes, and it had scared her.

Every night before falling asleep she'd whispered her hope to the heavens that Neville and her would never have to see one of these places with their own eyes, but it seemed like their destiny wasn't in their hands anymore.

Just as Luna wanted to lie her head on Neville's chest again, longing for his familiar warmth, she heard that the sound of the steel wheels on the tracks was changing. They were starting to get slower, and nervousness crept up her spine; around her, people were sitting up, alarmed by the decreasing speed of the train.

Neville gently slung one arm around Luna, pulling her closer to him, and she pressed herself to his chest, whispering with a shaking voice: "I'm scared."

"Me too," Neville admitted, sounding less calm than he tried to appear, for her. And even though she was full of anxiety, she managed to smile up at him. This definitely wasn't how they'd imagined their first weeks as newlyweds – they'd married at the beginning of the last month – but she was at least thankful that Neville and she hadn't been separated.

"Everything will be okay," she mumbled as she buried her face in his chest, having felt the need to say that, even though she didn't really believe in it. Normally, she was a very optimistic person, but all the horrible things that had happened all around them, they'd ripped her out of her dreamy state.

The world wasn't full of wonders anymore that waited to be explored. Close friends and family had been deported, not a single week had passed by without them hearing about yet another acquaintance being taken away. Only very few of the people they'd invited had been able to come to their wedding, dampening her happiness about this day that should have been the best of her life.

A loud screeching noise filled the waggon, and they were all shaken as the train braked hard, making them all glide slightly over the wooden floor. When the train came to an abrupt halt, they all looked at each other in fear, holding their breaths as a horrible silence filled the air for a short moment.

Then, the door was suddenly slid open with one acute movement, revealing several armed SS men. They were screaming at them to move, immediately causing panic; they nearly stumbled over each other as they tried to obey, scared by the yells and the barks of the dogs that some men were holding on leashes. Neville was holding Luna by the arm, keeping her from being pulled away by the moving people; his grip was so tight that it hurt her, but she was clasping to him just as tightly.

It was a beautiful morning; though the air was crisp, the golden sun was warming a bit, and a thick layer of fog hang over the fields that surrounded the train. But Luna didn't have time to look at the nature – the stream of people coming from the other waggons forced them forwards.

They were following a road that led away from the railway tracks, and they didn't have to walk long until they could see a big gate building appear from the mist. A simple, wooden shield was rammed into the soil about a hundred meters before the building, and Luna could feel chills running down her spine as she read what was written on it.

 _Auschwitz-Birkenau_

Her eyes seemed glued to the name as she stumbled over the muddy ground next to the street; an odd feeling spread in her stomach, and the closer they came to the gate, the heavier the distressed atmosphere surrounding them became. All around Neville and her, she could hear stifled sobs and crying children, but no one seemed to dare to say anything. They were a quiet progression, a seemingly endless line of humans that slowly approached the intimidating building behind which a world was waiting that they didn't want to see.

Luna felt like the hopelessness and darkness inside of her would suffocate her; she felt so lost without her own optimism, and she didn't dare to seek refuge in her mind like she usually did when a situation was getting uncomfortable. It wouldn't do her any good if she suddenly started to dream – Neville needed her, and she didn't want to risk losing him in the crowd. Also, Neville was the only person that was able to give her a safe feeling, even though it wasn't a situation where they were guaranteed not to be harmed.

The moment they walked through the gate, Luna's grasp around her husband's hand grew tighter – in front of them, she could see more guards, and doctors, splitting the crowd into several streams. Noise hit her like a brick wall, and for a moment, she was paralysed – the screams of families that were torn apart, the cries of babies, the threatening yells of the SS men... People were dragged away, or hit by gun handles when they tried to run back to their loved ones, the doctors were yelling over the noise, selecting the old and the weak looking.

And in this moment, she asked herself if they would live to see tomorrow. She clinged to Neville, who seemed to sense the turmoil that broke out inside of her; he pressed a gentle kiss onto her blonde hair, whispering promises before their hands were violently separated. They held eye contact as long as possible as they were pushed into different directions.

OoO

Heavy flakes were falling from the grey sky as Luna walked through the slush that covered the ground and her shoes, her blue eyes staring longingly at the gate of barbed wire that separated the women's part of the camp from the of the men. She hadn't seen Neville since they'd arrived at Auschwitz, and it had been hard days for her. He was her safe haven, and she didn't want to be too far from him. One of the women with which she was sharing her barrack had told her that the men were normally allowed into their part of the camp once a day, after work was over.

The fact that they hadn't opened the gate for days was making Luna feel at unease; she hadn't been able to sleep, and the sparse bit of food she'd received had been handed to her bed neighbour after a few minutes of empty stares.

Luna felt like a part of her had died the minute their door had been smashed down by the soldiers – she missed the hours she used to spend lying on the meadow behind their apartment building, staring up into the blue sky, imagining herself to be a bird that flew to foreign lands. She'd dreamt the war away, the discrimination against the Jews in Germany... everything bad, all the evil in the world.

But now it was all crashing down on her, showing her that her dreams had only been what they were, dreams, illusions. Reality was too horrible to cope with sometimes, and especially in these times.

A noise ripped her from her deep thoughts – right next to her, a woman was screaming in glee, and as she followed her gaze, Luna's heart jumped in joy. Two guards were opening the gate, and she could spot Neville in the small group of men that were desperately waiting to be allowed to pass.

Ignoring the mud and the cool water that splashed up her legs, Luna started to run towards him, pushing her way past a few men who were bolting into the opposite direction. Neville opened his arms and she flung herself into them, feeling how tears started to run down her cheeks.

Only as their bodies made contact she really dared to believe that it was him, and not a hallucination that her lonely mind had made up to keep her from going insane. His warmth, his muscles, his voice... they were real, and she sobbed into his grey jacket, her fingers curling into the fabric.

"It's okay, Luna, I'm here... I'm here," Neville whispered against her hair, pressing kisses on top of her head while pressing her tightly against him.

"Nothing is okay," Luna pressed out between sobs, lifting her head away from his chest to look up into his eyes. "I.. I was so scared that I wouldn't see you again, the women, they talked about gas chambers and that they would sometimes send a whole train load into them without selecting them..."

Her voice was close to breaking, and Neville cupped her cheeks with both hands so she would look at him.

"It's okay, Luna. They assigned me to a group of workers! As long as I'm healthy and able to work, I'm safe. And you should tell them that you can play the flute, one of the men in my barrack is playing in the orchestra, and said that it would make you valuable for them!" Neville hastily replied, looking at her with a nearly pleading expression. He had seen how the woman he loved had started to disappear when they were being dragged out of their home and forced to climb onto the truck, and he wanted her to do everything to stay alive.

"I... I don't know if I can do that... play for them while they see us as filth..." Luna stuttered, but she knew that Neville was right. Music, her other way of escaping reality, would have to become the only thing that would keep her alive in this place.

"We need to do everything to stay alive now. I love you, Luna," Neville said before leaning down to kiss her. Luna clinged to him, desperate to be as close to him as possible for as long as they were allowed. She didn't know for how long they'd been standing there, holding each other close and kissing from time to time, but evening dawned and she could hear the guards ordering the men to leave.

"I'll be back tomorrow, I promise!" Neville whispered, leaning down for a last kiss, lingering as long as he could.

OoO

To Luna, the orchestra was a farce, and she wished she hadn't volunteered for it. At the beginning of the month, a new ramp had been finished, which enabled the trains to drive right into the camp, and the orchestra was required to play at this ramp while the trains were unloaded. They were supposed to entertain the SS men, so they would have their fun while they were sending hundreds of people into the gas chambers.

She'd used to love to make music, but they were taking this away from here as well now. Luna felt like these men were taking away all of her joy to live, destroying all the little things that were able to lift her up so she would blend into the grey mass of haggard shadows of people who were staring into space with empty eyes.

There was an atmosphere in the camp that made her feel sick; seeing people give up on themselves, worked to complete mental and physical exhaustion wasn't an easy sight. However, what really got to her was the column of smoke that was towering above the far side of the camp, day and night. They all knew that it came from the crematory, and why it was being used without a pause. Whenever that popped into her mind, icy shivers would run down her spine.

And so, it was more than surreal to be sitting within a scene of despair and fear, playing cheerful marching music, making to make the job a little bit easier for the countless guards and doctors that were doing the selection.

It sickened her how many people looked at her and her fellow musicians with hope, as if their orchestra was a sign that the destiny awaiting them behind these fences wasn't as horrible as they feared.

Only Neville and the long walks they would make after he was finished with work could keep her from losing herself in this bale. His hand holding hers was like an anchor, keeping her from drifting away, and when he was holding her in his arms, she would close her eyes and imagine they were home, standing in their little apartment and not in the middle of hell on earth.

The promise to return the next day, which he gave her every evening, was the only thing keeping her alive in these days. Neville was her constant, and she was his; it felt easy to smile when it was for him.

OoO

Luna didn't know anymore for how long they'd been in Auschwitz, but she figured that it had been a very long time when the days got warmer. Once again she was standing by the gate separating the women's and the men's part of the camp from each other, waiting for Neville. She was holding her face into the sun, the tiniest of smiles lifting the corners of her mouth as she felt the warm rays tickle her skin, and for a moment it was as if all the misery and sorrow around her disappeared.

Then, she heard how the gate was opened, and she opened her eyes to smile at Neville, but the tiny moment of freedom vanished as she realised that Neville wasn't there. Also, there were considerably less men in the group; some of those that had visited daily, like Neville, weren't there as well.

Panic started to course through Luna, and she tried to soothe herself by saying that he was probably not done with work yet, or that he was just a bit late… Or maybe his cough had gotten worse, and he wanted to stay in bed for the day?

In the last few days, Neville had started to cough and feel a tiny bit ill, but they both hadn't been worried, as he still felt fit enough to work - though one didn't have such a big choice if they wanted to go to work or not. Yes, he surely was only resting, and would be there to visit her tomorrow.

OoO

The next day, Luna waited in front of the gate again, accompanied by several other women. She heard some of them whisper than men from Neville's barrack had been sent to the gas chambers because they were ill, but Luna didn't believe what they were saying. Neville had been okay when she'd last seen him, and they wouldn't kill a worker that was still able to fulfill their demands. No… maybe he was just tired, and had just forgotten to ask one of the men to deliver a message to her. She knew her Neville, he often forgot to do things.

OoO

On the third day, her bed neighbour, Ginny, tried to talk to her, to tell her that her husband had seen how Neville and others had been dragged away to be killed, but Luna had refused to listen. Neville would come, he was a young, strong man who was a valuable worker, they wouldn't kill him. Not her Neville.

OoO

The days and then weeks trickled by, and Luna never forgot to wait in front of the gate, her hopeful eyes glued on the street on which Neville would appear. When asked, she would say that he would come, that she knew he would, and she didn't see the looks of pity the other women were giving her. Luna was waiting, every day, convinced that her love would come to see her. After all, he'd promised her that he would come every single day to see her, and Neville had never broken a promise.

On some days, she would be convinced that he was being treated in the hospital of the camp, so he would soon be able to work again, the other she'd thought that he was working overtime, like Ginny's husband.

And no matter what people were saying, she still wandered to the gate every day, scanning the approaching crowd of men with hopeful and dreamy eyes while placing a guarding hand over her belly, waiting for Neville to walk towards her with open arms and a smile.

One beautiful day, it would happen; one beautiful day she would see him on the street, and she wouldn't rush over to him, but take her time, enjoy every single second of their reunion. And he would kiss her, mumble words of love into her ear and kiss her hair before gently caressing her round belly.

Yes, one beautiful day...


End file.
